Go with Love ~

These Love Letters are my gift to you, inspired by the one who so gifted me....

There are reasons that my son calls me an old hippy! For one thing, since he was a little boy his home has been filled with a vast collection of drums , feathers, crystals and strangers wandering in and out at all strange times of the day in search of soothing reiki, healing hugs and soul retrievals. His earliest years were spent traveling with his father and me to a lovely retreat center in the forests of Southern Ohio to a place called Lotus Lodge which was run by a lovely woman named LaWanna Rine. To this day he still talks about Auntie LaWanna and the wonderful times he spent with her.

Lotus Lodge was the first place that I ever came to understand how fragrance and healing were inextricably linked. LaWanna is a wonderful old soul who is gifted with a profound knowledge of herbs, essential oils and all of their properties. She believes profoundly in the existence of many Ascended Masters and she dresses everyday in a rainbow of beautiful colors.... she will never wear black. She has the most amazing collection of costume jewelry that I have ever seen and is never without at least 10 pieces of it. She is without a doubt the most gorgeous 95 year old woman that I’ve ever seen, she only looks to be about 70. She is filled with songs and the most amazing energy that until recently carried her up her hills for long walks with her dogs everyday. She always smells wonderful, covered with the herbs and oils that are her allies. She’s sophisticated and utterly luminous at the same time. Meeting her for the first time is a bit like meeting your fairy godmother come to life. The Lodge itself is painted purple. Did I mention that she has crystals in her home the size of boulders and statues of all of her favorite Goddesses everywhere?

Walking into Lotus Lodge for the first time was always a purely pleasurable assault on the senses. There was always a fire in the woodstove and a pot of fresh herbal tea simmering in the kitchen. LaWanna was always baking something wonderful too, gluten free and vegan. After many hugs , she’d  look at you and assess what you need. Most often, it would be an essential oil and hot stone massage in her wonderful treatment room with Enya playing and plenty of time to relax. Sometimes, she’d draw you a warm bath with candlelight in her old clawfoot tub, to which she would have added epson salts, oils and the fresh tinctures that she makes from plants that she grows and uses for their healing properties. One beautiful summers day she brought her massage table out onto her vast porch which overlooks the artesian spring and her beautiful woods. When I asked what I was supposed to do, she laughed , told me to take my clothes off and she proceeded to give me a massage with the most wonderfully fresh watermelon pulp . Then she rinsed it all off with warm herbal water and used her special blend of almond oil and essential oils to finish. To say that I was in heaven is nothing short of an understatement.

Whatever she chose for me that day was exactly what you needed and you always left refreshed , filled with optimism and plenty of treats! Almost everything that I’ve learned over the years about healing and herbalism I learned from her…she remains to this day one of my greatest teachers.  One day I walked into her lodge to find an amazing vegetarian brunch waiting for me and the lady herself hard at work at her desk with papers flying all around in typical LaWanna fashion. “I’ve got so much to share…I can’t stop writing! Do you think that you could help me get it out to world on the internet?”.   I created her very own own category on my blog called “Love Letters from Lotus Lodge” She’s not writing them anymore, so I’ve kind of taken it upon myself to create them.  Occasionally you will see one from her. It will be flowery and abundant just like the lady herself and full of her open hearted love and native wisdom. 

I truly hope that you enjoy them.  La Wanna never says goodbye..she always says

“Go with love….Bless you.”

So shall I.

So go with love my friends and get ready to turn up all of your magic!